It's only been a few minutes since I left the jungle biome, and I'm already exhausted. So far, fewer players were willing to ambush me, and even when I left the traps behind, I managed to push back at some who were still willing to risk their chance in the event to take me down. I'm more relieved than bored with this routine. But I wish they could do something more than trying to tackle down a moving truck. It's a poor description of myself, but my point still stands.
Anyways, now that I have reached the bamboo forest biome, I can rest easy and prepare for the next move. It seemed like no one was around trying to ambush me in groups, and I could hide behind one of the bamboo trees to recuperate and plan out my next move. Though as I look around while letting my [Healing Factor] do the work, I notice how peaceful and detailed this biome is. It reminds me of those Wuxia novels and comics I've read online. I wish I could enjoy the scenery a bit longer, but...
I doubt my stalker has the time to let me have the time for rest and relaxation.
"I know you're hiding," I called out as I stood up and stretched my legs. "I suggest you show yourself if you want to save the time kicking my butt."
I hear footsteps coming from behind. I turn around and, as expected, another player is stalking me. This time, it's a dark gray wolf [Beast Folk] wearing a dark green kimono reminiscent of ronin warriors in Sengoku Japan, complete with several katanas on his hip sheath.
"Hmph... You're not just a strong and wily guy, you're also perceptive," he said. "All the more reason not to underestimate you, Lunar."
I smirked at the mere mention of my new name. "I can say the same for you." I take out my [Bear Claw Gauntlets] and assume battle positions. "I'm impressed. You looked like you were more prepared than the other players I've encountered. I'm a bit excited about what you're going to bring to the table. Care to share who I'm facing today?"
"
This guy... I never expected him to be reckless underneath his calm and collected facade. But that's enough to fire me up for this fight. "Great minds think alike. In that case..."
I take out one of the fruits I got after entering the biome and eat it to regain my [HP] and [MP]. Then...
“Spirits of life, hear my call. Give me the strength from your power! [Gift of Strength]! Spirits of life, hear my call. Give my ally the agility from your grace! [Gift of Speed]!"
I let the life [Mana] envelop my whole body as I see the notifications about my buff.
"Interesting trick. Then I'll do the same." He cracked his free hand and grinned. "[Claw Sharpening]."
His body also glowed, this time in a yellow aura. I guess even someone calm like him can't hide his fangs against me. "Since you seemed to spend your time looking for me, I'm hoping you might give me the first strike."
"Heh... I said I want to skip the pleasantries, not manners. Besides, I would rather want to see what you have in your sleeve other than your [Claws] and magic."
I flash a grin to my opponent. "Then I won't waste your time." With the speed buff, I quickly rush behind Kamiro and raise my right leg above him. "[Power Attack]!"
I drop my leg above his head. But to my surprise, Kamiro quickly blocks it with his katana blade. That should have been the end of my first strike, but I know better not to underestimate him. Instead, I follow it up with two basic punches above him to let him block it, giving me an opening for a basic kick as a finisher to my combo. While it should damage him despite blocking them all, it should be enough to incapacitate him for a while. Besides, I haven't got a passive [Martial Arts] skill that lets me give some buffs whenever I use a combo, so I'm not satisfied with my first strike of this battle.
"Heh... This is what I want from a fight: A no-holds-bar with an opponent that cannot be underestimated!" Kamiro commented. "But can you satisfy my bloodlust? [Parry]!"
Crap! That's a [Sword] skill that deflects the last attack! He pushed my leg up before he returned it with a strong slash from his katana. I didn't have time to block or dodge it, so I found myself taking the attack and pushing myself away from Kamiro. Thankfully, I only got 1/4 of the damage from that attack. It seems like my [Gift of Protection] from the last fight managed to linger long enough to dampen the strong damage from his skill. He should have used any basic attack after that. But just as I raise my head, he is somehow able to close the distance in a blur as if he teleported right in front of me.
"[Cross Slash]!"
He swung his katana in an X-shaped pattern. This pushed me back a few more steps as I felt the stinging pain in my chest. Just like before, my [Gift of Protection] managed to absorb some of those attacks. But the moment I fell on the ground, I saw the notification regarding it.
Dammit... I haven't cast [Gift of Strength] and [Gift of Magic] onto myself earlier, so the only buff I have left is the [Gift of Speed]. So I'm practically helpless against his next set of attacks. However, I can't let this setback get to me. This guy must be in par with my current [TML], so he doesn't have any high-level skills on him, hopefully. However, he hasn't shown me the rest of his set, and I have a feeling he chose the [Beast Folk Race] for a good reason. I have to be prepared for his tricks and ambushes before I go on the offensive.
"Interesting kit. Are you sure you're not relying too much on your [Sword Mastery] to get a jump on me?" I taunted. "You'll have to do better than that."
"Hmph... I don't need your input to defeat you." He sheathed his katana and raised his left hand. “Aura of arcana, hear my call. Aid me to create a barrier to protect my allies from harm! [Mana Shield!]”
Before I could react, a small dome of a transparent barrier surrounded Kamiro. So he's not a one-trick pony after all. But why that spell? Sure, it protects him from a few attacks, but that means he won't move for a while. I could go on the offensive, but something doesn't feel right with me. He can't just use a spell that wouldn't let him move unless he is willing to risk disabling it early. I could go with my [Fire] spells, but he might take advantage of the casting time.
"What's the matter, little guy? Afraid you might get a paper cut from my blade?"
Damn, that poor excuse of a...
Okay, calm down, Lunar. I already studied the other skills and spells of [Masteries] I don't have through wikis and guides. I don't have to break the shield with several skills and attacks. If I recall, [Mana Shield] has a hidden [HP] counter. If I exceed it, just like when I deal with anyone with [HP], I can break it with one skill. So I just need a skill to achieve it without buffing myself. Besides, he might be on par with me due to the limit set during the arena event. There's no way he's overleveled than me.
"Ha! Not likely." I rush towards Kamiro before I thrust my fist with a skill in mind. "[Power Attack]!"
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
While it's not a powerful skill in the [Martial Arts Mastery], I still have my [Lycan] stat bonuses to make up for it. Even if I don't destroy it in one attack, I can still weaken it enough for a basic finale...
"Tch... I didn't think you'd fall for it."
Huh?!
"Checkmate."
Before I knew it, Kamiro charged towards me, dispelling his [Mana Shield] in the process. Then to my shock, he took my attack head-on, taking a lot of damage than I expected. WTF?! This isn't part of my calculations! How could he waste his [MP] just to break out his [Mana Shield]?! And his [HP]... It seems like he has low [DEF] despite being a [Beast Folk], who are known for their bulky stats. There are too many questions running through my mind.
And it's only when he declared something that made me realize my big mistake.
"[Counter Slash]."
...Crud.
Before I knew it, I felt a stinging pain the moment he pulled out his katana. After that, I found myself flying off from him.
Everyone in the crowd gasped at what they witnessed in their feed. Even Venus was speechless at what she saw, yet was able to bounce right back when she heard a whistle from her whisper chat and a scream sound effect from her chat.
"U-Uh... Sorry about that. I'm more shocked than you that I don't know how to react to the turnaround, chat," Venus spoke up. "But by the looks of it, the [Beast Folk] ronin, Kamiro, managed to take advantage of breaking his own defenses to take the underdog Lunar's [Power Attack] head on for his surprise [Counter Slash] attack. And judging by his remaining [HP] and the force Lunar endured, that's got to be a big damage waiting for him. I can tell it might be the end of Lunar's unbroken streak for this event!"
Lyco flinched after watching the same scene on his holographic livestream screen. "Damn... That guy must have abysmal [DEF] to deal a huge damage to him. I still can't believe he still survived his [Power Attack] after that..." He looked around the bakery vigorously. "And where the heck are those two?! Do they know Lunar is in danger of elimination?!"
"LUNAR IS IN DANGER?!"
Lyco screamed at the sudden outburst behind him. But he stopped when he turned around and saw Nelli rushing in as she panted in exhaustion.
"O-Oh... It's you, Nell. Where's your sister?" After he took a quick deep breath, he noticed dirt around her clothes before they disappeared after a few seconds. "And what happened to you? You looked like you came back from a pub brawl!"
"Hmph! It's not my fault I got dirty like this!" Nelli protested. "But enough about that. You said my Master Lunar-sama is in danger of elimination! Is that true?!"
"First, "-sama", then "Master". She really is a Mistress of Simping..." Lyco mentally groaned as she stared at his friend's sister.
"It's not yet declared, but he found himself facing off a formidable foe," he explained. "A [Beast Folk] with a skill set reminiscent of a ronin or samurai managed to put Lunar on the ropes with his counter strategy."
"A counter strategy? I-Is that bad?" Nelli nervously asked.
"Real bad. This guy might have bad [DEF], but he managed to take advantage of it by baiting Lunar into using his [Power Attack] and using [Counter Slash] to reflect the damage to him."
Nelli raised her eyebrow with a tilt of her head. "Reflect? Bait? You're using too much confusing gaming lingo! How does that suppose to put Lunar-same in danger?!"
Lyco groaned again, realizing who he was talking to. "Think about it? What happens if you have about 10-20 [DEF] and you're facing off against a guy with 60-80 [STR]?"
"...He makes peace with them."
He was about to slap himself at Nelli's oblivious answer before taking a deep breath. "No, it means that your opponent just rammed you like you're a rusted shield waiting to break from a tiniest feather. But if you flip the numbers around, you can easily block it without one, giving you only 1 damage with just one attack."
"Ooh~ Is that even possible? I didn't know the numbers on that window could do all of that."
Lyco sighed, wondering how in the world she even played this game without reading the tutorial on the HUD in the first place. "Well, we can't customize them willy-nilly since this game doesn't have a point-buy system. But we can adjust them by choosing the right [Mastery] and equipment to get the right stats you will need for your build. Of course, it seems like that wolf guy knew what he was doing when he sacrificed his [DEF] for that risky strategy against strength-based builds like Lunar's."
Nelli gasped. "So he really is in danger after all..."
"Maybe... But let's just see."
But unknown to Nelli, Lyco knew his friend more than that. Even if he didn't play together with him in this game, he was the type to find a way to escape a sticky situation like this. In fact, he doubted he had been eliminated from his last attack. But first...
"By the way, where is your sister?"
"Oh, she's busy with something," Nelli nonchalantly answered. "But she said there's something important she has to tell you and Lunar-sama after the event."
"Something important?" Lyco repeated in confusion. "God, whatever it is, it doesn't involve them endangering their login privileges."
Kamiro stared at the dust covering most of the forest. When nothing was coming out of it, he sighed in dismay. "I thought he was all tough thanks to the notice. But I guess he's only talking big after all." He sheathed his sword and took out some berries for him to eat. "Then again, I risked most of my [HP] to use that skill. I'm guessing he's just too late to realize my trick. Oh, well... Time to check out another biome."
He was about to turn around and walk away. But before he did, his ears twitched.
Kamiro's eyes widened at the notification. "Wait, are you serious?!"
He turned around and gasped as he saw a shadow approaching him from the disappearing dust cloud.
"No way... It can't be...!" Venus screamed as she watched the footage live on her holographic screen. "It was supposed to be a point-blank elimination from our [Insignis] underdog. But to our surprise, it seems like he managed to survive Kamiro's deadly [Counter Slash]! If he is, then this is going to be a big game-changer!"
Everyone outside began to exchange murmurs, wondering if what Venus said was true. But as they tuned into the livestream, they saw Lunar, now bruised, yet standing as he limped forward towards Kamiro.
"AND HE IS!!! For the first time in my [Isekai] gaming career, our favorite underdog has endured his finishing blow with only 429 [HP] left to turn things around!"
Most of the players watching cheered at this surprising sight as Lyco and Nelli stared at the holographic screen in shock.
"H-He survived...?" Nelli grew silent for a few seconds before her frown curled into a big smile. "HE SURVIVED!!! LUNAR-SAMA IS STILL ALIVE!!!"
Lyco sighed loudly after recovering from his shock. "Man, he almost made me worried back there," he muttered. "He wasn't kidding about his OP [Sub-Race's] stat bonuses..."
I sighed in relief as I limped out of the dust cloud. Damn, that hurts as hell... But it's a good thing my [CON] enchantments I put before the event came in handy. I'm surprised most of my [Racial Skills] for [Lycanthropes] don't have most skills to have [HP] or [CON] bonuses. But it's a good thing I remembered my [Enchantments] from my [Magecrafting Mastery].
"Hmph... I'm surprised you managed to survive that despite having one of the worst [Races] when it comes to tank-related abilities," Kamiro commented. "Then again, you just put my annoyance to rest. Now I have a reason to get excited for this fight."
I smirked despite the pain I'm enduring right now. "Well, I'm just getting started." I assume my positions and prepare my counterattack despite my condition. "You did say you want a fight of your lifetime. Then I will give it to you! But don't forget, "be careful what you wish for", got it?"
The wolf [Beast Folk] smirked and raised his katana. "Heh... Now you're making me pump. Ronin VS an underdog. That's something to behold. When I get to defeat you, I'll make sure this will be the fight we won't forget!"
"I don't think so."
My eyes widen when I hear a familiar rough voice from behind. I quickly turned around to stop them, but they grabbed my neck before I could utter a skill or spell from my mouth. I tried to struggle out of his grip, but it was too strong for me to handle.
"Hey! What the h*ll are you doing?!" Kamiro shouted at the intruder, strangling me. "This is a 1v1 fight and you're interrupting!"
"Ha! Interrupting? There are no rules against interfering during a battle royale fight."
Dammit... I knew I would face him in this event, but not this soon!
"Besides, Lowry and I have some unfinished business to settle with."
Ewa... Just how far are you willing to get your revenge on me?!